Even as genr and masculy are more fluid than ever, n still rankle when male stars -opt tradnally gay s and styl.
Contents:
GAYBAG
* gay baiting celebrities *
AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTNot on the CultureEven as genr and masculy are more fluid than ever, n still rankle when male stars -opt tradnally gay s and photos: Richard Young/Shutterstock, Beretta/Sims/Shutterstock and Timothy A. A quick primer, for those of you who, like me, are over a certa age and may be more faiar wh the term “gay bag”: This is one of those squirmy evolvg-language thgs which, faster than you might ever image, a phrase to mean almost exactly the oppose of what once meant. As recently as 10 years ago, gay bag referred to the practice, pecially polics, of sneergly suatg that someone was gay via d language orr to harm them while matag plsible niabily by never sayg directly.
That journey began wh visibily; gave way to vilifitn and mockery; then, after s of stggle, to a few refully crafted gay characters ma largely for straight dienc; then to a larger and more diverse range of characters, some created whout the need to attract those straight dienc. Characters and out artists, tokenism is still an accepted norm — a gay kiss a Marvel movie or a rtoon, 12 sends (lerally) taken to show that Sulu is gay a Star Trek n feel like teasg — and that, too, remas a norm.
In pre-ter tim, magaz like Out (and, 20 years earlier, After Dark) would fuel the wishful thkg of gay men starved for gay stars by throwg a mix of fely gay, probably gay, straight-but-gay-iendly, so-hot-we-wish-they-were-gay and ’s-anybody’s-gus celebri onto their vers.